Ambiente construído e mobilidade em cidades de média dimensão

A relação entre as características do ambiente construído e a mobilidade dos habitantes tem sido amplamente estudada. No entanto, a maioria desta investigação tem-se debruçado sobre contextos metropolitanos, e pouco se sabe sobre esta relação nas cidades de média dimensão, as quais possuem características de mobilidade muito próprias. Por um lado, a sua dimensão reduzida permite que grande parte das deslocações possa ser realizada a pé, mas por outro, o reduzido nível de tráfego e a fraca oferta de transportes públicos promovem as deslocações em veículo individual. Este artigo foca-se na relação entre características do ambiente construído e a mobilidade da população no contexto de cidades médias portuguesas, designadamente Castelo Branco, Faro, Santarém e Vila Real. Os dados resultam de um inquérito à mobilidade nas 4 cidades, com cerca de 4500 indivíduos, e de cálculos de indicadores para descrever as características do ambiente construído, designadamente a densidade, diversidade, design e acessibilidade. Os resultados das análises estatísticas reforçam a importância do ambiente construído como estímulo para uma mobilidade urbana mais sustentável.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Angolan cymbopogon citratus used for therapeutic benefits: nutritional composition and influence of solvents in phytochemicals content and antioxidant activity of leaf extracts

Folk medicine is a relevant and effective part of indigenous healthcare systems which are, in practice, totally dependent on traditional healers. An outstanding coincidence between indigenous medicinal plant uses and scientifically proved pharmacological properties of several phytochemicals has been observed along the years. This work focused on the leaves of a medicinal plant traditionally used for therapeutic benefits (Angolan Cymbopogon citratus), in order to evaluate their nutritional value. The bioactive phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of leaf extracts prepared with different solvents (water, methanol and ethanol) were also evaluated. The plant leaves contained ~60% of carbohydrates, protein (~20%), fat (~5%), ash (~4%) and moisture (~9%). The phytochemicals screening revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, and terpenoids in all extracts. Methanolic extracts also contained alkaloids and steroids. Several methods were used to evaluate total antioxidant capacity of the different extracts (DPPH; NO; and H2O2 scavenging assays, reducing power, and FRAP). Ethanolic extracts presented a significantly higher antioxidant activity (p < 0.05) except for FRAP, in which the best results were achieved by the aqueous extracts. Methanolic extracts showed the lowest radical scavenging activities for both DPPH; and NO; radicals

Metodologia de amostragem de ninfas e avaliação preliminar de fungos entomopatogênicos contra a mosca branca no meloeiro.

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Data-Centric Resource Management in Edge-Cloud Systems for the IoT

A major challenge in emergent scenarios such as the Cloud-assisted Internet of Things is efficiently managing the resources involved in the system while meeting requirements of applications. From the acquisition of physical data to its transformation into valuable services or information, several steps must be performed, involving the various players in such a complex ecosystem. Support for decentralized data processing on IoT devices and other devices near the edge of the network, in combination with the benefits of cloud technologies has been identified as a promising approach to reduce communication overhead, thus reducing delay for time sensitive IoT applications. The interplay of IoT, edge and cloud to achieve the final goal of producing useful information and value-added services to end user gives rise to a management problem that needs to be wisely tackled. The goal of this work is to propose a novel resource management framework for edge-cloud systems that supports heterogeneity of both devices and application requirements. The framework aims to promote the efficient usage of the system resources while leveraging the Edge Computing features, to meet the low latency requirements of emergent IoT applications. The proposed framework encompasses (i) a lightweight and data-centric virtualization model for edge devices, (ii) a set of components responsible for the resource management and the provisioning of services from the virtualized edge-cloud resources

Microbiological contamination in different food service units associated with food handling

Background: A microbiological analysis of samples taken from hands of food handlers and utensils/crockery in food service units was used to assess the risk of food contamination. We aimed to assess indicators of microbiological contamination in different food service units. Methods: We used data for an official inspection proposal (2018–2019) in different food service units serving a district in Northeast Portugal. We showed the proportion of positive samples for each microorganism assessed in samples taken from hands and kitchen utensils/crockery. Results: Out of 471 samples taken from hands of food handlers, 26.8% (n = 126) were classified as “unsatisfactory” due to the presence of at least Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and/or total and fecal coliforms. Such a proportion varied according to the type of food service unit with a higher proportion being observed in Canteens (40.0%) and in Retirement Home/Day Care Centers (37.8%). More than one third of 649 samples taken from kitchen utensils/crockery were classified as “unsatisfactory” (n = 181; 27.9%) or “bad” (n = 49; 7.6%). There were significant differences in these proportions across food service units, with a higher proportion of “unsatisfactory” samples being observed in Fishmongers and Butcher Shops/Charcuteries (50.0% and 45.1%, respectively), while a higher proportion of “bad” samples was observed in both Pastry/Bakery and Fishmonger establishments (33.3%), followed by Butcher Shops/Charcuteries (14.1%). Conclusions: Our results emphasize the need of awareness of hygiene practices among food handlers of different food service units, particularly in Fishmongers, Pastry/Bakery establishments and Butcher Shops/Charcuteries, highlighting the need of a periodic hygienic evaluation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Insulinoma: case report and review of the literature

O Insulinoma é um tumor endócrino do pâncreas, raro, com origem nas células ß, que segregam ectopicamente insulina, o que resulta em hipoglicémia. Ocorre em indivíduos entre os 40 e 50 anos. A clínica deve-se ao efeito da hipoglicémia no sistema nervoso central (SNC). São geralmente de dimensões pequenas (≥90% são ≤2 cm), únicos (90%) e apenas 5-15% são malignos. Localizam-se maioritariamente no pâncreas, com distribuição equitativa pela cabeça, corpo e cauda. O diagnóstico desta entidade depende da correlação entre os dados clínico-laboratoriais e os exames imagiológicos usados para a localização do tumor primitivo. Os autores descrevem um caso de um homem de 57 anos, com episódios de neuroglicopénia confirmada desde os seus 50 anos, que se manifestava por tonturas, sudorese, cefaleias e confusão mental. A prova de jejum de 72 horas revelou níveis de insulina e péptido-C sugestivos de Insulinoma. A RMN e a arteriografia selectiva revelaram um nódulo de 2cm na cauda do pâncreas. A ecografia, TC e cintigrafia com octreoscan não foram úteis. Foi feita a resseção cirúrgica do tumor, sendo a insulinémia na colheita de sangue da veia esplénica pré- resseção de 5410 mcUl/ml e após a resseção de 186 mcUl/ml. Fez-se o diagnóstico histológico de Insulinoma benigno com evolução clínica favorável e normalização da sintomatologia e laboratório

A Contribution to the Bio and Circular Economy

and Cássia H. Barbosa’s Ph.D. fellowship (2021.08154.BD). MMA thanks the Instituto Superior Técnico for the Scientific Employment contract (contract No: IST-ID/154/2018) under Decree-Law No. 57/2016 and 57/2017. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.The development of innovative/sustainable materials capable of enlarging the shelf-life of food products has lately been a focus of research, aiming to reduce food waste. Due to their good antimicrobial properties, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) can add activity to food packaging, improving its performance. Furthermore, these nanoparticles are considered GRAS by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which represents an advantage in their application. Through an innovative and sustainable approach using tomato and passionfruit extracts, ZnO NPs were produced and incorporated into pectin films. The resulting bionanocomposites were tested for their activity via in situ studies, using fresh poultry meat as a food matrix. Overall, the bionanocomposites presented good antimicrobial activity, with the intrinsic antimicrobial properties of pectin having shown to be enhanced by the incorporated ZnO NPs. When used as primary packaging for the meat, the deterioration rate of the poultry meat, measured through microbiological growth and total volatile basic nitrogen content, was reduced. However, the nanoparticles contributed to the increment of discoloration and meat oxidation processes. Nonetheless, it can be concluded that fresh poultry meat protected with the bionanocomposites presented an extension of its shelf-life time, and it was confirmed that this eco-friendly packaging has potential to be employed by the food industry.publishersversionpublishe

Probing 3-3-1 Models in Diphoton Higgs Boson Decay

We investigate the Higgs boson production through gluon fusion and its decay into two photons at the LHC in the context of the minimal 3-3-1 model and its alternative version with exotic leptons. The diphoton Higgs decay channel presents an enhanced signal in this model compared to the Standard Model due to the presence of an extra singly charged vector boson and a doubly charged one. Prospects for the Higgs boson detection at 7 TeV center-of-mass energy with up to 10 fb$^{-1}$ are presented. Our results suggest that a Higgs boson from these 3-3-1 models can potentially explain the small excess for $m_H\leq 145$ GeV observed at the LHC. Otherwise, if this excess reveals to be only a statistical fluctuation of the Standard Model backgrounds severe constraints can be put on these models.Comment: Corrections in the text done, 24 pages, 5 figure

No rasto da drepanocitose

Introdução: A Drepanocitose é uma doença autossómica recessiva causada por uma mutação pontual na cadeia da beta-globina da hemoglobina, a qual favorece a falciformização dos eritrócitos em condições fisiológicas adversas. Está associada a fenómenos de oclusão capilar que também afectam a retina, podendo levar à perda de visão. Com este trabalho pretendeu-se caracterizar as alterações fundoscópicas em doentes com drepanocitose referenciados à consulta de Oftalmologia do nosso hospital. Material e Métodos: Seleccionaram-se doentes com idade superior a 9 anos e diagnóstico de Drepanocitose observados entre Dezembro de 2009 e Julho de 2010. A avaliação foi feita com recurso à biomicroscopia e observação do fundo ocular.Quando se justificou, foi realizada angiografia fluoresceínica e tratamento com LASER. Resultados: Foram observados em consulta 7 doentes (em idade pediátrica) com Hb SS, dois adultos com Hb S-ßTalassemia e um com Hb SC (13 anos). Dois doentes com genótipo SS e os doentes com S-ß talassemia apresentaram alterações compatíveis com retinopatia da Drepanocitose, nomeadamente tortuosidade venosa, exclusão capilar periférica e neovascularização. Conclusão: A retinopatia da drepanocitose foi mais frequente nos casos de heterozigotia Hb S-Talassémia do que nos casos de drepanocitose SS, o que era esperado. As lesões encontradas são essencialmente na retina periférica e, na maioria, assintomáticas. Este facto cria a necessidade de reforçar ao doente a importância da aderência ao rastreio

Phenolic profile and effects of acetone fractions obtained from the inflorescences of: Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull on vaginal pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria

The phenolic profile and the antibacterial activity against pathogenic commensal vaginal bacteria exhibited by different fractions of the acetone extract of heather was assessed. The acetone extract of Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull was fractionated by silica gel column chromatography through an eluent system of increasing polarity, obtaining 10 different fractions (Fr 1 to Fr 10). The phenolic profile was analyzed by HPLCDAD- ESI/MS. Type B (epi)catechin dimers, (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin were the main phenolic compounds present in the fractions. The antibacterial activity was also analyzed against pathogenic bacteria and the effect in the beneficial microflora was also accessed. Some of the obtained fractions revealed the capacity to inhibit pathogenic microorganisms without affecting the beneficial microflora, especially Fr 7 and Fr 8. For instance, Neisseria gonorrhoeae was inhibited by both of the fractions, while Fr 7 was more active against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Morganella morganii, and Fr 8 against methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), without affecting Lactobacillus strains. This study corroborates the therapeutic use of this matrix in traditional medicine.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programmer PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2019), CQ-VR (UID/QUI/00616/2013), and to FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal program for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E. The authors are also grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for Sandrina A. Heleno (SFRH/BPD/101413/2014) grant and L. Barros contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio